Recently several rooms on the first floor of HHS got new desks and chairs. This follows the third floor getting them at the beginning of the school year. These chairs and desks were a big investment for the school and especially to the students that will be using them. 

“We got the new desks and chairs because many of the old desks and chairs were broken, worn out, or damaged,” HHS Principal Mr. David Williams said. 

Williams thinks it is a good investment to the school and they will help some students focus more on their work. 

“I love the new chairs,” he said. “I think they are much more comfortable, and yes, I do think the fact that they have wheels allows kids to sort of wiggle around in them, and that movement has been shown to help certain kids focus.”

However, this investment wasn’t cheap. The school district spent a lot of money on these desks and chairs. HPSD’s Executive Director of Finance and Business Operations, Mr. Paul Northington had to approve the spending of this much money. 

“The total cost for the High School chairs and desks that were installed this week was $99,962.00,” Northington said. “Each chair was $230 and each desk was $244,” he added. 

At the beginning of the school year, they installed these new desks and chairs to four classrooms at first. Then they realized that they had some money left over in the budget and decided to install new furniture into other classrooms as well.

“The District initially purchased furnishings for four classrooms at the start of the school year, and the purchase this winter allowed us to furnish another eight classrooms this week,” Northington said. “With the two recent installations we were able to furnish 12 classrooms.  We do not have plans at this time to do additional classrooms.”

After seeing the old furniture in the hallways during the last two weeks, many students wondered how old this worn out furniture is, and what will happen to it. 

 “The furniture that is being replaced were original to the new High School that was completed in 2006. So this furniture is almost twenty years old,” Northington said. “Some of the old desks and chairs have reached their useful life and will be discarded. The majority of the remaining furniture can still be used and we are reaching out to other neighboring school districts to see if they have a need for the furniture.”

Teachers appreciate the improvement in the classroom atmosphere. 

 “The new desks have made a huge difference in my classroom,” ELA teacher, Mr. Brian Murphy said,  “I love the modern look and style.  The desks are much more stable than the old ones.  And these chairs are really nice.  They are bigger, they have arm rests, and they are much more comfortable on your back.  I even use one at my desk when I can.  Overall, I’m really happy about it, and it’s made my classroom better.”

Many students had mixed thoughts about these new chairs and desks. Some students think that  these desks and chairs have pros and cons to them being in the classrooms because of the obvious size difference, compared to the old furniture and how it could be a slight problem. 

“I actually have mixed feelings about the new furniture,” Abby Robinson (10) said. “I think they’re fun to roll around with, sure, but they take up a lot more space then the old ones. I like how stable the new desks are and the arm rest add-ons, but they’re loud and easily run into one another because of the wheels.”

This change has made a noticeable difference in the classroom and how it would affect the seating arrangements and comfort of the students. 

“The new chairs and desks are definitely better than the old ones, they allow for more flexible seating arrangements and in my opinion, the new chairs are more comfortable,” Brayden Beste (12) said. 

The new desks and chairs aren’t just an upgrade in appearance to the classrooms, they’re also making a difference in how students experience their classroom environment. 

Rashawn Taylor (11) said, “The new chairs are cool, they give you more availability to move around the classroom. The desks are cool too because I feel like they’re sturdier than the old desks we had. And I like the wheels on the chairs, it makes class more fun to do your work and roll around.”